'No Going Back' Broadsman to speak at National Parks Conference
Writer and former deputy editor of the Eastern Daily Press, Martin Kirby, will be travelling from Spain to make one of the key speeches at the Association of National Parks Conference which is being hosted by the Broads Authority in Norwich from September 14th –16th.
Martin, a Broads lover who made a drastic life change five years ago to seek a sustainable lifestyle in rural Spain, a country known for its unsustainable coastal tourism, will be sharing his experiences and achievements with 180 delegates and guests from the country’s 14 National Parks at a dinner on the first evening of the conference, Wednesday September 14th, in The Forum.
Said Martin,
” I feel passionately about the Broads and am very keen to learn how the Broads Authority and indeed all National Parks Authorities are looking at ideas for encouraging sustainable tourism. “If I can help broaden ideas a little by sharing our personal experiences and ideals that would be great, but I’m coming to the conference to listen too. Sustainable tourism is such a huge topic, and so challenging, not least to spread awareness and acceptance of the need for it – namely, of course, to enjoy natural treasures without putting them at risk, and ensuring they are there for future generations. It has been fascinating to step away from the Broads for a while, from Britain too, because you see things in a different perspective, and at the same time Spain, with its massive tourism industry, has offered us the steepest of learning curves.”
Martin Kirby and his wife Maggie Whitman sold their chocolate box cottage in North Norfolk and gave up successful careers to bring up their five year old daughter Ella and baby son Jo Jo on a run down 10 acre farm in the Catalonian mountains in north east Spain. After years of toil scratching a living they have built a business exporting award-winning olive oil under their own Mother’s Garden label, and offering eco holidays on the farm, in which visitors can help with farming activities.
The family was featured on two Channel Four “No Going Back” documentaries, and Martin’s book, “No Going Back – Journey to Mother’s Garden,” is published in three languages and can be found in every English speaking country in the world. He writes a monthly Mother’s Garden chronicle for the Eastern Daily Press and Yorkshire Post, and has written for magazines and national newspapers both in Britain and abroad.
Born and brought up in North Norfolk, Martin, a keen sailor, has written extensively about natural and local history, including a book on the Norfolk trading wherry, Albion, and he also played a part in the campaign to save the Hunter Fleet of 1930s sailing cruisers based at Hunter’s Yard, Ludham.
He has just completed a novel set in the Broads.
